Chapter 6
2230 Words
CHAPTER 6
Alena POV
I’m home before them both and quickly catch up on some reading. I feel agitated after four hours have passed, because my mind starts to go into overdrive with thoughts about what could happen with him here. I was going to have to tell Patrick or have a stern conversation with Evander.
There was only one bathroom and we were going to have to share it with him. Great.
I just needed to cool down and it was just past six, there was no way they would be coming home soon. I put on some Thirty Seconds of Mars and jam to it while I put my hair into a bun. I quickly shower and shave my legs. I accidentally cut my knee. Its deeper than usual so it doesn't stop bleeding.
“Fudgestickals!”
I quickly get out of the shower and pull on my pajamas. Does Patrick even have band aids?
I look in the bathroom cabinet and curse. I take some toilet paper and that’s when I hear them coming in. s**t.
I open the bathroom door and find a very drunk Patrick laying on the couch.
“Hey Pumpkin!” he beams and I laugh as he throws me little kisses.
“Hi hun, do you have any band aids here?” I ask and smile awkwardly at Evander who is busy carrying his luggage to his room.
“Nope!” Patrick says and smirks as Evander comes back into the living room.
“Do you need any help? I would help, but f**k I’m seeing two of you!” Patrick hiccups and I roll my eyes. Evander laughs and raises an eyebrow, but before he can say anything I chip in.
“I’ll help him! You should go shower and don’t even think about climbing into the bed when you smell like that!”
“Yes Mam!”
Patrick jumps to his feet and as he runs past me, he hits my bum.
He darts into the bathroom and Evander finally looks at me. I couldn’t see one hint that he was drunk at all. His eyes looked alert and focused, maybe even a little intense.
“You really don’t need to help me.” he says softly and his eyes flicker to my bare legs. I swallow hard.
“I’ll go get it! You should settle and pack your things out! I think I’m quickly going to get some band aids in the vending machine downstairs,” I say and stick out my hand. He doesn’t give me his car keys and I raise an eyebrow.
“I won’t steal your car.” I say jokingly, but he shakes his head.
“We can walk together, but there’s one thing.”
He slowly takes off his jacket.
“What are you doing?” my eyes flicker to his broad chest and I regret it immediately. Some of his buttons were undone showing off his collarbone and the edge of a tattoo. I couldn’t see what the tattoo was.
“You’re taken and no man should see you in your pajamas except him.” he says and holds up his jacket.
I hesitate for a moment and look down at my clothes. Everything was covered, but I guess my oversized shirt did kind of hide my shorts. I step into his jacket and look at him over my shoulder.
“Thanks.”
The smell of the cologne that covered his jacket was so intense that I couldn’t help but silently smell it as I walked behind him in the hall. What was that? I didn't realize he was looking at me over his shoulder.
“Creed, Spice & Wood.” he says and I start walking faster so embarrassed I wanted to die.
“Do you like it?” I walk beside him and shrug my shoulders.
“No, it’s too intense, but you're a little intense so I guess it suits you,” I joke, raising my eyebrows and regretting it immediately as he grins at me.
“You have no idea.”
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
We walked in silence until the elevator door opened.
“Hi Uncle Joe!” I beam when I see the janitor eating his burrito in the elevator. His gray hair was standing in all directions and I guessed it was from the hat he wore while working. He quickly pushes the last piece of his burrito in his mouth. His black eyes wrinkled when he gave me his million dollar smile.
“Alena! Thank goodness! I have to return this to you!” he says and quickly searches in his backpack that hangs on the side of the large black dustbin.
“Don’t tell me you’ve already finished it!” I say as Evander and I step into the elevator.
“Yes well I couldn’t put it down! The part where Gatsby is in the pool almost killed me!” he says dramatically and I roll my eyes while I laugh. He hands me back my copy and I see there is a little chocolate bar hiding between the pages.
“Oh Joe, you know I don’t want anything, but thank you so much! I always appreciate any form of the food of the Gods!” I say overdramatically and hug him when he looks down at his feet. He looked so tired. I was grateful knowing he had a small little apartment here so he didn’t need to travel alone this time of night.
“I know it’s not much, but my girls enjoyed those rusks and sweets so much!” He holds me a little tighter. He’s been working here for over thirty years and lost his wife to cancer a year back. His two granddaughters would come visit him every second week and Dewei and I decided to make sure he could spoil them.
“When they come to visit again you should bring them over for some supper!” he nods and then finally realizes it’s not Patrick with me.
“Who’s this? You finally left that funny fellow?”
“No, I’m just a friend visiting. It’s nice to meet you sir. I’m Evander.” he says and they shake hands.
“Nice firm grip! It’s nice to meet you! You can call me Joe!”
We come to a stop and I feel awful when Joe's face falls. He loved talking to people.
“Have a good night Joe!”
“You too sweetheart! Nice meeting you Evander!”
“It was nice meeting you too Joe,” Evander says and sticks his hands in his pockets and shakes his head as the elevator closes.
“What?”
“I didn’t imagine you like this, that’s all,” he says and unlocks his car. I take his laptop bag as he takes the bigger bag filled with boxing gear.
‘How did you imagine me?”
“Stuck up.”
“WHY?”
“I don’t know most of the girls I know with your kind of looks would never talk to the janitor and you even hugged him.”
I don’t know what to say as I look at the ground. He thinks I’m weird!
I look at his boxing gear. I decided to quickly change the subject.
“Are you fighting anytime soon?”
“Yes, there is a club close by that has a guy I need to go knock some sense into.”
“Oh.”
“I didn’t mean it as an insult, you know. It’s nice,” he says and I crinkle my nose and look at him.
“I don’t know what you mean or what you want me to say?”
“Take it as a compliment.”
He smirks at me and I smile.
“Ok, thank you Evander,” I say and our shoulders brush as we step into the elevator again, but this time we were all alone.
“You’re not what I imagined either, oh s**t!” I forgot my knee was bleeding and there was some blood running down my leg.
“Where did you cut yourself?”
“On my knee when I was shaving. I’ll go get some band aids afterwards. We’ve already passed the floor anyway.”
“I have some for you in my room,” he says as we stop on our floor.
“Really?” What kind of man travels with bandages? Wait! He was a boxer, it made sense!
“Yes, you can use this so the blood doesn’t drip on the floor,” he hands me a small black towel from his boxing gear.
When we finally get to the apartment Patrick is laying in his underpants on the bed fast asleep. Evander and I laugh softly and softly close his bedroom door.
I walk into Evander’s room and I awkwardly take off his jacket. I hold it against my chest. He retrieves the band aids from his suitcase and jerks his head towards his bed as he stands up.
“What?”
“I want to help you clean that up.”
I’m so caught off guard that I do as I'm told. I sit on the edge and as he goes on his knees before me, I feel frozen. He’s almost still tall enough to look me in my eyes. I swallow hard.
“You don’t have to, really! I can do it myself.”
“Is the picture of me on my knees too tempting?”
“No! What? What does that even mean?” I say and entwine my fingers on my lap as I watch him roll his eyes.
“Shut up and let me help you,” he says and I’m about to argue, but then he grips my leg and gives me a stern look. I decide to stay quiet and just watch as he starts to wipe my leg clean. He does it so slowly and softly that my skin is immediately covered in goosebumps. I hold my breath as he runs his warm fingertips gently over my now clean skin. He opens the little packet with his teeth and his eyes meet mine as he does it and I bite the inside of my lip. My mind wanders off and I imagine it’s a condom he’s opening between his teeth. F#ck Alena! Focus! You have a boyfriend!
He places the band aid over my cut. His thumb skims over my bandage and then he takes a deep breath.
“We should talk about how we are going to handle this situation,” he says and the trance I was in is immediately broken.
“Yes! I thought so too! We don’t tell him and we become best friends! I just have some ground rules! No pulling stunts like that or what you did at the restaurant!”
F#ck my word vomit! Why do I talk so much?
“What exactly did I do?”
I jump up and he does as well. Our chests brush and I let his jacket fall to the ground. I point my finger at him.
“That whole, I’m sexy and intimidating stunts that make it impossible to be serious and be your friend! We're living together for a couple weeks! You’ll go home and then we just go on with our lives, maybe even be really good friends.” I say and then he grabs my finger before I can step away from him. He bends his head so close to mine that his breath dances against my skin. The smell of tobacco and whiskey fills my nose and I shiver.
“Deal, but I also want to make some rules…” he whispers and then slowly brushes his fingertips over my waist like a ghost of a whisper. Those damn hands! He grips my chin to make me look at him.
“Don't f**k me with your eyes. Don't call me your friend and don’t ever let him pay with your card while I’m here or I will rip his throat out.” he said it so softly that if it wasn't for the stern look in his eyes I would have thought I had imagined it. I search his dark eyes and gently push against his chest. I shouldn't feel like this. Like I was a match that desperately wanted to burn. The tension between us made it hard to breathe. Hard to think. It was wrong. I felt disgusted with myself, but I couldn't look away from him.
His eyes search mine and then his lips are brushing against my cheek. My neck. It feels like lightning running through my veins.
"Goodnight Alena." He whispers against my skin.
"Goodnight Evander." He pulls back and looks at me. His brow furrows.
We stand there. Just watching each other.
When he finally lets me go, I literally run out of the room. I lock our door and calm my breathing as I watch Patrick sleep oblivious of everything happening inside of me. I wished he could feel how terrified I was right now of myself and my own feelings. How disgusted I felt with myself. I climb into bed next to him and as he pulls me against his chest I lay awake waiting for my heart to calm down.
- Writer
